by Andy Morris
hoped he would get back to sleep again soon but he wasn’t quite ready to lie down again yet. Laying down he was vulnerable and things could get him in the dark. At least if he was sitting upright he had a chance of defending himself from more imagined monsters that his sleepy imagination conjured up. He smiled to himself and the childish fears and was again reminded of the lost freedom of his childhood, before it was taken away when he learned about the Afterlife. He needed to soothe his frazzled nerves and his thoughts turned to his girlfriend who blossomed in his mind’s eye like a warm sunrise over a secluded tropical beach.
It had been her eyes that Connor first noticed when he came to in the Long Term Care ward of the Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital. The way those deep oval shaped gemstones sparkled brightly in her cheery aquiline face instantly made her one of the most beautiful people Connor had ever met. She radiated a natural empathy that warmed his soul whenever he was with her. When she spoke to him her voice made him think of a field of brightly coloured flowers, stretching out before him as far as he could see. Laura was a boarder-line obsessive Disney fan. She had spent so much of her life absorbed in those fairy tales that she had taken on the characteristics of the gentle caring princess characters. But this soft feminine side was balanced by her second love: Motorbikes.
Whenever she came round to his house he would hear the roar of her Kawasaki ZX-6R growl down the road announcing her imminent arrival. Connor had always had a thing for brunettes and a brunette in biker leathers was beyond tantalising.
Laura had stayed round again last night and her stays were becoming more frequent. It was partly due to the condition of her flat, Connor reminded himself cautiously. If the boiler in her flat was one of her patients it would be in intensive care with a ‘do not resuscitate’ sign around its next. The engineer had to come out at least once a week to get it going again and the landlord was refusing to get it replaced. This wasn’t helped by the fact that the fuses kept blowing in all the flats in the building and Laura had had enough.
She was looking for somewhere else to live. It had to be close to the hospital, where she practiced her nursing. She was working tonight on another run of late shifts that would keep her there until nine o’clock the following morning.
Connor made sure he saw Laura whenever he could. Events for youth club or street dancing were starting to become slight chores that he had to endure before seeing Laura. They would either meet up to go for a drink or go to one another’s homes where they would stay in and cuddle up on the sofa, usually watching something carefully selected from Laura’s towering collection of Disney DVD’s. He knew she was a Disney fan but he never realised just how much of an obsession it really was to her.
The very first time he had gone to Laura’s flat they had ascended the echoing stairway that led to her front door, careful not to trip on the uneven black and white vinyl flooring. Laura had opened the door and led him down the hallway. He had expected the framed pictures in the hallway to be of her family but as they made their way into the living room he noticed they were of her idols; Micky Mouse, Mini, Donald, and Pluto. As Laura led the way into the lounge Connor saw it was more of a grotto than a living room: The soft lighting from dozens of fairy-lights strung along the walls cast the collection of cuddly toys in a magical glow.
Visiting her flat was nice but it did mean that he had to tangle with that ill-tempered cat of hers. Tinkerbell, the evil Tabby, had never liked Connor from the moment it first met him. Animals usually warmed to him very quickly but not Tinkerbell. A small furry thing that Laura introduced as Tinkerbell, lay curled up on the sofa in a nest of fluffy pink cushions that lay strewn over all the chairs. The moggy eyed him warily as he trespassed into her domain and in its expressionless green eyes it conveyed the undisguised irritation it felt at being disturbed. Connor ignored it’s animosity towards him and said a friendly ‘hello’ but as he bent down it sprang to its feet, hissed at him and shot out into the hallway. Its attitude hadn’t softened since despite Connor trying to be nice, even buying some catnip toys when he went round again. Sadly he got the same welcome and the ungrateful bugger didn’t even look at the toy. Connor hadn’t given up on it yet though. He was giving it space to see if it eventually came around to tolerating him. He was aware he should probably stop referring to it as ‘it’ as well.
Alicia, on the other hand was just as far from tolerating his relationship with Laura as Tinkerbell was. Connor had shared his premonition with his sister about the demon coming for him. On reflection it may have been a mistake to share with Alicia that the person he had seen himself sleeping next to in the future was actually Laura. He hadn’t known her at the time but when he had seen Laura for the first time he instantly recognised her from his vision.
Laura had been round last night when Alicia had called in to see him. Connor recalled as he wriggled under the covers to find and get back to sleep again.
Connor had been in the kitchen last night when Alicia let herself in.
Like Connor, Alicia was tall and was blessed with the natural golden skin-tone that was common to children of mixed race parents. Looks were important to Alicia. She was not unknown for spending a good hour applying her make-up just to pop to the shops to get some milk.
Alicia capitalised on her looks and carried herself with a regal air of confidence that seemed to get her whatever she wanted in life. She was a natural leader, ever since they were children. Being the eldest she was the responsible one, which often meant bossing around Connor and his younger sisters. Old habits die hard with Alicia and she continued to impose her wisdom upon them in their adult lives. This need for control was becoming more apparent to Connor the more time he spent with Laura. It felt like the closer he got to Laura the more condescending Alicia became.
Connor saw her waltz into the lounge with her phone pressed to her ear wearing another of her countless designer dresses. The stylish black design gave off the impression she was about to step out onto the red carpet. She wore her Dior sunglasses on top of her head, despite it already being dark outside. As she finished her call and slipped her phone back into her black oversized mulberry handbag, Connor saw the smile drop form her lips as she noticed Laura sat on the sofa. Alicia’s ‘pouty-face’ twisted into place and she cast Connor a look of spiky disapproval.
“Oh” she said in mock surprise. “I didn’t know you were here”.
Connor knew she couldn’t have missed the huge motorbike parked outside on the road or the pink helmet with the mini mouse design, sitting in the hallway.
Laura got to her feet and greeted Alicia, offering her a drink. If Laura had noticed Alicia’s animosity she hid it well beneath her cheery exterior.
“Hi Sis, take a seat” Connor said, ignoring her impoliteness and hoping she would at least try to be pleasant to Laura this time.
“I’m just making some popcorn. Laura’s brought round Finding Nemo to watch. Apparently I’d really like it” he flashed a lop-sided grin at Laura.
“No, thanks” Alicia said quickly. “I just wanted to see if you were coming round to see Mum tonight for her birthday”. Alicia knew full well that Connor was seeing Mum on Friday.
“I spoke to her on the phone and I’m going round to see her tomorrow” he explained. By the time the youth club finished it was quite late and he wouldn’t be able to stay that long before heading back home again. Mum knew that and understood and she had told him to go round tomorrow night instead.
“Oh” Alicia paused dramatically, as if she were taken aback. Connor felt sure Laura could see through his sister’s facade but she pretended she didn’t. The silence thickened, bordering on discomfort and the seconds felt like they were stretching into minutes. There was a moment when Connor thought Alicia wouldn’t say anything and just let her unspoken hostility boil over and he was about to encourage her to leave when she finally voiced her thoughts again; “I thought it would be nice for us all go get together. But never mind. If you’re busy I’m sure Mum will be OK”. Alicia sa
id distractedly looking down at Laura who shifted uncomfortably under the accusing gaze.
Connor felt his insides squirm as if a nest of vipers slithered over each other as the tension in the room grew. Connor did not have a cruel bone in his body he had always found it hard to counter Alicia’s acid-tonged remarks. His sister knew how much it frustrated him and had enjoyed winding him up when they were children.
“I’ve been looking forward to tonight” Connor said moving towards the door to break the tension. “Alicia, you’re welcome to stay but I know you’ve got an early start tomorrow and if Mum’s expecting you…” He let the hint hang in the air, unspoken but necessary to navigate his way through this region of family politics without spilling any psychological blood.
“I’d better be going” Alicia announced curtly, turning to leave and smiling to Laura. Connor didn’t think anyone could make a more disingenuous smile than the one Alicia had flashed at Laura as she breezed out of the living room and headed for the front door. Connor was hot on her heels.
“What the hell was that for?” Connor hissed when Laura was out of earshot.
“You shouldn’t have her round here Connor” Alicia
